I sorta had a similar situation with my arab gelding...its an interesting story...but not sure if it would be interesting to you guys....it's a long story too..... she sure is a pretty girl! I love greys!! My arab started out a real dark grey like her too..can't wait to read more!

The following few weeks I played around with her a little. I taught her the rules that she had to follow if she wanted to be with me. I taught her how to pick up her feet and stand still to be brushed. I also managed to get the big knotted mess out of her tail and it was now full and long and beautiful.

Then it was finally time to put the saddle on. I had already sacked her out with the saddle blanket so that wasn't scary anymore. We put that on and then my mom brought the saddle over. I grabbed it while she held Sugar. First I held it by her nose so she could smell it until she quieted down a little. Then I walked around her in a circle until she was fine with that too. Finally I slowly put it closer and closer and finally on her back. She cringed a little but accepted it fairly easily. Then came the girth. I put it under her belly and slowly tightened it without actually fastening it. Once she was over that I fastened it as tight as it would go and the my mom took the lead off of her halter. She galloped around the arena and gave a few bucks but nothing spectacular. We repeated the process over the next few days until she was comfortable with it on both sides.

Then finally came the day that I was going to get on her. First I hopped beside her as if I was going to mount. Then I hung on the saddle a little bit. My dad then lifted me up so I was hanging over her with my belly. I had my foot out of the stirrup ofcourse! We walked around a little and then we called it quits for the day. She was put in her stall for the night and given some hay.

Over the next few weeks we practiced getting on and off her and I finally managed to get my leg over the otherside. Ofcourse stupid me did it when my parents weren't there but my friend was watching me. It was very exciting and I gave her lots of treats. She didn't take off or do anything and I slowely got off of her again.

When she was good with one leg on either side we started practicing "one squeeze and go" and left from right. I was fairly surprised at how fast she learned but you could tell she had some trust issues to get through once in a while. I suspect there may have been some beatings in her past as there are unnatural white markings on her hind end.

Part 5 coming soon!

PS. Please do not think we are taking it too slow or that I am an amature (No I have never trained a horse before). I have ridden for many many years and have been in numerus Pony Clubs and learned from different instructors. I have many friends that train horses and when I am stuck or need some random tips I call on them.

Once the snow had almost gone and it was getting a little warmer we moved into our new house. It wasn't a very big house as it only had two bedrooms but my dad made me and my sister two insulated sheds that we could live in. Sugar wasn't going to come here for another month so I was busy everyday cleaning up the mess that the previous people had left. I also had to make a makeshift gate because they let the horses just run loose. I heard that on several occassions they were at the neighbors eating their hay.

Then it was finally time to bring Sugar home. It felt good to bring her to a place that she will always be loved and properly cared for. It took us a while to get her in the trailer again but we knew her personality a little better this time. I gave her lots of treats to keep her busy once she was inside.

When we got to my house she was really excited. We got her out of the trailer and her head was up and nostrils flared. I lead her into her new big pen and she sniffed the ground twice and then took off running and bucking around the pen and through the trees. She was so excited. We put some hay down and we had already filled her big water tub and left her to explore.

After about a week of brushing and saddleing at her new place it was finally time for my first trailride. I was really excited. I led her out of the field and quickly tightened up the girth. I stopped paying attention to her for just a second and she noticed. She took off into our unfenced part of the property. My heart started racing. Carefully, slowly I walked towards her but she didn't want to be caught. Then she went straight into the bushes and I couldn't keep up to her anymore. Frantically I ran for home and with shaky hands I called my mom who was at work. I was crying so hard that my mom could barely understand me but she got the message. She told me to call the neighbors and go for a bike ride to let the people know that there was a loose horse.

Then it was time to wait. Hoping desperately that she would come home. Minutes went by and then a whole hour had gone by. I was starting to loose hope but then I heard a rattely old truck come up the driveway.

"You lost your horse?" a man asked in a raspy voice.

"Yes. Did you find her?!"

"You better come with me then."

That got me a little worried. I thought something major had happened to her and I didn't say anything on the drive there. It wasn't very far. Just down the road. When I saw her she was peacefully eating grass and a man was holding her. I quickly got out and walked towards her. I noticed one rein was broken but nothing else was the matter. I was so happy. I thanked the men and tied the broken rein to the bit. Then I hopped on and rode her home. It was the scariest experience I had ever had but she taught me a hard learned lesson that day: Always, always pay attention to your horse and never let it falter.

The next day I saddled her up again and when I walked out of her field and tightened the girth. I held onto her reins and payed attention to what she was doing. Ofcourse she just stood their calmly. I smiled.

When we got onto the trail she had her ears pricked forward and she looked around happily. Her step felt different. I could tell that this was what she loved. Exploring. The trailride was uneventful except for a random spook at a stump every once in a while. When we got home I brushed her down good and let her go in her field. There was no running or bucking or anything crazy like that. My pretty mare that I had just spent ten minutes brushing layed down and had a big roll. I was happy to see her so comfortable in her new surroundings.

Part 6 coming soon! Wow this is turning into a novel! Should it be published? :P

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